HOW TO PACK YOUR RESTAURANT WITH NEW CUSTOMERS USING FACEBOOK ADS

1September 2018

How To Pack Your Restaurant With New Customers Using Facebook Ads

Are you ready to get the attention of new customers who operate in a mobile-first, social-media obsessed world? Then, you probably know what we’re going to say next. Yup, you guessed it… Facebook ads for restaurant leads.

Facebook ads are your new go-to, helping pack your client’s restaurant with new patrons in no time.

Print advertising used to be the popular choice. But, Facebook ads have proven to be not just the flavor of the week, but of all time.

Many restaurant owners, however, are unsure of where to even begin to get the most bang for their buck while using the popular social media platform’s ad tools. And, if that’s the case for your client, many of their most savvy competitors are stealing the show.

Those competitors are reaching all the foodies while showing off their menu, driving in-restaurant visits, and enhancing loyalty. Sound like something your client would be interested in?

Fortunately, we’ve got just the thing to make that a reality for them. That’s because we’ve created a ready-made Facebook ads for restaurant leads funnel that’ll help you cook up some lead generation goodness. All by using Facebook ads to increase restaurant leads this week.

You’re in for a real treat today. That’s because we’re whipping up the Facebook ad recipe for success to take your client’s restaurant business to a whole new level.

To get started, let’s dive into component numero uno (aka #1): the jaw-dropping offer (or JDO as you’ll see around here). It’s the “it” thing that’ll make your Facebook audience stop in their scrolling tracks and crave more information. Thus, compelling them to click on your ad.

But, this can’t be just any offer you toss into the mix. It actually needs to be two things:

A product or service of perceived high value to offer for free (or at little cost).

So, let’s start with the first bullet point. You need to determine whom exactly it is you want to target. With a restaurant, the different audiences you can appeal to are plentiful—from families with small children to sports fanatics, younger couples, and so many more.

But, the key is to focus on only one audience at a time and produce an offer that’s unique to them. In this case, we’ll focus on women—specifically those between the ages of 20 and 40, who have a birthday in the month we’re running an ad. Plus, friends of people/women who also have a birthday in the next 0 to 30 days.

Now that we’ve identified who our people are for the ad, let’s move onto the second bullet point: the offering. The most delectable (and feasible) product you can offer this type of customer is a buy one, get one free birthday dinner.

Easy enough, right? Onto the good stuff…

The Sizzling Facebook Ads for Restaurant Leads Funnel You Need to Cook Up Some Serious Leads

To entice your intended audience, you need to set up a simple four-part Facebook ads for restaurant leads funnel, which includes:

A well-targeted Facebook ad

A landing page (aka opt-in page)

A thank you page

And, a simple follow-up email sequence and text message

It’s like a 4-course meal. When you don’t have one dish, you won’t be serving up the most mouth-watering funnel possible to your people. Therefore, let’s walk through each part of an effective Facebook ads for restaurant leads funnel to ensure you get something delicious in return: a steady influx of leads.

1. The Facebook Ad

This is where that JDO we talked about earlier will be on full display for your audience to see (and get a little hangry for).

And, no, it doesn’t need to be some gourmet masterpiece. We don’t want you spending hours in the Facebook ad “kitchen” trying to come up with some prime cut piece of copy.

What’s the most effective ad type to accomplish just that? Consideration, with the ideal objective being Traffic. That means you’re focused on sending people to a destination on or off of Facebook for lead generation.

Pretty straightforward? Yup, it really is. So, we’ve hashed out the ad objective, and up next is targeting.

This is where the segment we discussed earlier (women between the ages of 20-40, with a birthday in the month we’re running the ad, & friends of people/women who also have a birthday in the next 0-30 days) comes into the mix.

To begin tempting leads in your neighborhood with your buy one, get one free birthday dinner offer, you’ll want to go with the following targeting options:

Your city +10 miles (in this case, we used our local town. But, you’ll need to determine the radius based on where you live.)

Women ages 20-40

Birthday in August (demographics)

Close friends of people with a birthday in:

0-7 days (demographics)

7-30 days (demographics)

Close friends of women with a birthday in:

0-7 days (demographics)

7-30 days (demographics)

Yes, there are many, many more targeting options you can choose from. But, stick with the seven strong options shared above to start getting a steady influx of leads through those restaurant doors ASAP.

Once you’ve set up the targeting, it’s time to move onto the ad creative! Again, as I mentioned earlier, you don’t need to turn it into a masterpiece by any means.

Instead, just ensure it’s enough to get your audience to take action. And move them to the next step of the Facebook ads for restaurant leads funnel—providing their contact information to opt-in to your email list and receive the special offer (aka JDO).

After that point is when you can reach back out to those new restaurant leads and dish out other offers.

In the ad example above, there are bits and pieces you can definitely mirror to save you a big chunk of time (yes, we’re giving you the go-ahead)! You’ll be able to build a top-shelf Facebook ad that brings you the sales you’ve been hungry for.

The Ad Headline—very simple and clearly states the offer.

The Main Ad Copy—relatable to the ad’s target audience and, again, mentions the offer.

The Ad Description—again, states the offer clearly with a bit more information, while using more language to attract the target audience (“Celebrate your special day with someone close to you!”).

The URL—is easy to read and is a custom domain. That’s important as you want to be sure to avoid extension URLs (ex. .clickfunnels). They’ll cost your ad more in the long run because they’re ranked poorly by Web of Trust.

After your audience clicks the Learn More button on the ad, they’ll be redirected to an opt-in page. This page is entirely designed to get their name, email, and cell phone number, in exchange for the offer.

2. The Landing Page (Opt-In)

Thinking about simply sending your audience to the sign-up or contact form on your website? Think again. Doing so will only create confusion as that page is generally standard and does not fork over a heckuva lot of incentive for your lead to give your their info.

Therefore, we recommend you set up a designated page for the exclusive deal that is part of your Facebook ads for restaurant leads funnel.

Set your sights on the landing page (opt-in) example above. You can copy it for your own offer, making it a piece of cake to bring in new leads. And, let’s walk through the three reasons as to why this page of your Facebook ads for restaurant leads funnel works 100% to your advantage:

The background image and page text are consistent with the ad that led your target there. The high-quality photo is a cute picture of a simple cupcake with a sparkler candle on top that calls for a celebration. And, once again, the page copy reiterates the offer.

The target is being asked to provide very minimal information—name, email address, and phone number. Thus, steering clear from overwhelming the user and causing them to click away from the page. All before they fill out the form and claim the offer.

And, there’s scarcity. This is very important. In this example, we’re only offering this BOGO deal for the month of the reader’s birthday, which compels them to opt-in faster and visit the restaurant ASAP.

This landing page is tested and approved as we’ve used the layout in dozens of different industries. It really works wonders every time!

3. The Thank You Page

After the prospective restaurant patron enters their information on the landing page and clicks the “Get Your Birthday Dinner Voucher Now!” button, they’re added to your email list and redirected to a Thank You page.

Right away, you’ll notice it’s very similar to the opt-in page, with just a few small changes.

The page opens with an explanation that a confirmation text is coming to their cellphone soon with instructions on how to claim the BOGO offer—encouraging them to show it to the hostess upon arrival at the restaurant.

Most importantly, at the end, we throw in a bonus stack with some added scarcity. It’s an additional freebie or special offer added to the original offer. But, it’s only given to the prospective member if they visit the restaurant and redeem within the next 72 hours. I mean, who wouldn’t want a free dessert added to their BOGO dinner?! I’m sure if you weren’t hungry already, you are now…

Okay, are you following how amazingly simple this is to get set up right away? I thought so.

Well, that completes the first three parts of our sizzling four-part Facebook ads for restaurant leads funnel. The last part is what we consider the cherry on top to really rack up profits—aka the follow-up.

4. The Follow-Up

We really can’t say it enough: if you go the extra mile to actually follow-up with those who’ve already opted-in to receive your offer, you’ll take your restaurant to another level.

Following up helps remove any barriers that stand between your prospective patrons and actually coming into your restaurant to enjoy some good food. Plus, you’ll make them feel like more than just a number on your books—a VIP, in fact.

To get started with your follow-up process, you’ll need to send a series of two emails, as well as an SMS text message. No worries if you’ve never used text messaging in your marketing efforts. But, you should, without a doubt, consider adding it to the mix, as it’ll put the dinner voucher in their hands, making it easier to redeem.

As for the emails, the first email they should receive immediately needs to restate the same information from the Thank You page. And, the second email they should receive two days later needs to tell them what they’ll gain from claiming the offer while reminding them it expires soon. (There’s that scarcity element again!)

So, how in the world do you set all this up? SendGrid is your trusted partner (or any other autoresponder tool you prefer), helping you get your follow-up communications out into the world.

And, that’ll wrap up your four-course funnel feast, easing you into the basic layout and flow of a Facebook ads for restaurant leads funnel using Facebook ads.